Colorado: Planning Process Begins for Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests

The US Forest Service has begun the process of revising the existing Forest Plan for Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.  These Forests cover more than 3.1 million acres of federal lands on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies. 

The first step in the planning process begins with an assessment of the current conditions on these three forests.  The Forest Service is inviting public participation in this assessment by hosting a series of open houses where the planning team will share initial assessment work and early ideas about needs for change in the Forest Plan, while inviting the public to contribute their ideas.  Please see below the open-house schedule. 

According to Samantha Staley, Forest Planner, “We’ve started to build a comprehensive snapshot of what’s going on in the Forests today, but we hope the open houses are an opportunity to widen the lens: what has the public noticed? What concerns do our stakeholders have about the state of the Forests?”  The assessment relies on existing information, including best available science, and invites interested stakeholders to provide additional information. The assessment will cover the broad array of resources and programs on the Forests, from wildlife to livestock grazing, timber to mining, and recreation. The end result of the assessment is to identify changes that should be made in the new Forest Plan, including changes identified by stakeholders.

All NRA members who enjoy hunting, recreational shooting or other recreation pursuits on one or more of these Forests are encouraged to attend one of the open houses in order to ensure that sportsmen and women are recognized as stakeholders, and to get a sense of how the new Forest Plan could affect the activities and access you currently enjoy. 

Information about the planning process can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ForestPlan.  Click on “Get Involved.” 

Public Open House